Legends of Hoenn: Fire and Ice
by P2tbAnimeGirl
Summary: Kai, daughter of Archie, thought that she had her hands full with her responsibilities to Team Aqua and just didn't have the time for an adventure of her own in her carefully plotted out life. But by chance she caught the eye of Jason, a young Administrator of Team Aqua, and happened to run into Aiden, a mysterious boy who confirms her worst fears. Has she fallen for Fire or Ice?
1. Back to Basics

**Warnings:** OC's, Semi Alternative Time-line based on the Emerald Game, little bit of language, character death, work-in-progress story and I don't know when it'll be finished either.

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Pokemon in any way shape or form. Pokemon was created by Satoshi Tajiri and Nintendo holds the rights.

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Chapter 01: Back to Basics

My hand came slamming down on the alarm clock next to my bunk in order to make it stop beeping in my ears. While the noise had most defiantly woken me up, my roommate Nola was still sound asleep and continued to snore up on the top bunk. Seeing this as a good opportunity to use the shower before she woke up and claimed it as her own, I pulled myself out of bed and began my morning routine.

Walking over to the closet, I grabbed today's clean uniform; a black and white belly shirt, navy colored denim pants with three white circles down the left leg, my black backpack that tied around my waist like a belt and my black and blue fingerless gloves. Once I had gathered these things I went into the bathroom for my shower. Even though the gloves and belt weren't part of the uniform I wore them anyways. My backpack had six pouches on it around the belt part, which held my six pokeballs. Only two were in use at the moment though. One held my Mightyena, who had been my first Pokemon, and the other held my Magikarp who was the newest member of my team at the moment.

Archie, the leader of Team Aqua, was my father. And instead of just being given the second in command rank, I decided to start out as a grunt and work my way up the ranks. I felt that I needed to do this in order to learn, to earn respect from the other members, and to prove my worth. It was the least I could do in order to atone from my disgrace. Dad was proud of my decision, and felt that it was also a good idea for me to be around others who were my age and to learn what it took to be a leader of Team Aqua with time and experience.

Stepping out of the steamy shower, I grabbed a towel and, walking over to the sink a few steps away, wiped the fog off the mirror. My lava red hair stuck to my face in a sticky mess and my matching lava eyes glowed back at me. I had inherited the traits from my mother, whom I never really knew, and they were my biggest disgrace. Being the daughter of the leader of Team Aqua, I was never happy with my hair and eye color since they were Team Magma's trademark color. And while there were other members of Team Aqua who also had red hair, I felt like I was such a disgrace to my father because of my looks. Though my father never really paid too much attention to their color, I just knew it bothered him too. So in order to cover up some of my shame, I kept my hair short and always wore the color blue even when not in uniform. If nothing else, it made me feel slightly better about things.

Messing with my hair, I quickly dried it and then threw on my uniform. Putting my bandana with the Team Aqua symbol on I effectively covered up my hair with the exception of a few untamable strands that hung loosely on my face.

"You done yet, Kai?" Nola shouted from behind the door, knocking on it as she spoke. I guess she finally woke up. In the year and a half that I've known Nola, she happened to be my best friend. She was funny and loud, but tough and cool. She wasn't afraid to yell at the administrators either. She also didn't give me special treatment for being Archie's daughter which I greatly appreciated.

"Yep, all yours." I replied, walking out of the bathroom and back into our little room. Like always, she looked like a zombie in the morning, with her chocolate curls sticking up all over the place and her amber eyes all glazed over with morning drowsiness.

"The first rule you should've learned here is that your superiors get first dibbs on the shower." Nola said, as she walked into the bathroom.

"Since when were you my superior?" I asked. Since last I'd checked she was the same rank as me.

"I've been a grunt four months longer than you have, meaning that I have more experience than you do. That makes me superior to you. That said, if you wake up on time and I'm still asleep, you wake me up too." She replied.

"What am I? You're mamma? If you oversleep the alarm, I'm taking advantage of the fact and using the bathroom before you do. You spend forever in there." I joked back.

"Point taken." She smiled in response before closing the door behind her.

"Yeah well I'll meet you down in the meal hall." I called to her from behind the door as I walked over to my closet and took my running shoes out.

"Save some Pokefood for my team, alright?" She called back from behind the door.

"Sure thing." I replied as I finished pulling on my running shoes. "Come on Mightyena." I said, taking her Pokeball and calling her forth. As she emerged and the whitish glow around her fur faded, she took one look at me and then went to the door, as if knowing where I wanted to go. "Good girl." I said, patting her head and then opening the door that led to the hallway.

Down the hall was a white pad that would teleport anyone standing on it to the meal hall. My father and some of Team Aqua's elite scientists had developed the teleport pads based off of the way an Abra or Ralts teleports. Upon stepping on the pad, one is instantly teleported to the responding pad. It had taken me a week to learn and memorize the paths of the pads, but I finally had it down to the point where it was second nature to me.

After teleporting, I walked out into the meal hall with Mightyena by my side. The meal hall was a large room with several long metal tables and benches lined up in rows. There was one trash can at the ends of each table, and there were two doors at the back wall; one for walking in on the food line and one for walking out when you got and paid for your food. For the Team Aqua members who lived at the base, we received a meal card and got to eat for free. Members who lived separately had to pay for their own meals.

Actually, it was only the younger grunts, with the exception of a few devoted and older administrators, who lived in the dorm rooms of the base anyways. While each member had their own reasons for joining, it was surprisingly common to see grunts who had joined only because they had nowhere else to stay. And, depending on where you were from, also greatly influenced why you joined Team Aqua.

Once I had picked up a tray with eggs, bacon, and toast, I also grabbed four bags of Pokefood; two for my team and two for Nola's Surskit and Dewgong. I swiped my card and began the not so difficult task of finding a table to sit at. I placed my junk down, fed Mightyena and Magikarp, and waited for Nola to join me. Though I was halfway through my meal when she finally arrived.

"There you are, Kai! I swear on most days you look like a boy! I mean, you're flat chested enough without having your hair so short all the time!" She complained as she took the seat next to me, her Surskit perched on her shoulders.

"We can't all have your D-cup chest and gorgeous chocolate curls you know." I replied.

"All I'm saying is that long hair wouldn't kill you! Honestly, how do you expect to get a boyfriend if everybody mistakes you for a guy?"

"I have my mind on more important things than guys." I replied.

"What could be more important?"

"How about my work here in Team Aqua? You know, boys don't make the world go around. I know, _shocking_ right?" I replied with some heavy sarcasm at the look on her face. "Look, drop it okay? Here's the Pokefood you wanted, your Surskit looks famished."

"You remembered, thanks. But don't think you're entirely off the hook yet. What about that new Administrator? Jason? He's pretty hot and I caught him checking you out the other day."

"He wasn't '_checking me out'_ or whatever, he was probably curious. Me being Archie's daughter and all." I replied smoothly, though I could feel a slight bit of heat going to my cheeks.

"_Sure_ he was." She replied with a look. "Anyways, do you have any field work tomorrow night?"

"None that I know of. Why?"

"I heard that there's going to be an awesome party in Lilycove City! You in?" She asked.

"I'd have to ask my dad first but –"

"Come on! Seriously? You're going to miss out on the greatest party in like _forever_ because of what your dad thinks? Trainers get their Pokemon license and leave home and do what they want when their ten! I did! You're seventeen for crying out loud! When are you going to do things on your own without parental permission?"

"Fine, I'll just ask our administrator for permission to go into town then. I need to pick up supplies anyways." I replied after a moment of hesitation. I really hated when she brought up the parent thing, but it was better not to dwell on it. My father constantly reminded me that Nola was a bad influence on me and that I shouldn't let her persuade me into her shenanigans, but she did have a point.

"That's more like it! We're gonna have a ton of fun, you'll see!"

"Mmmm, so hear any news on Team Magma's whereabouts? Last I heard they were in Slateport City." I asked, changing the subject.

"Slateport City? Why would they be there? It's along the sea, which makes it our turf." She replied.

"Exactly what I was wondering. I asked the Boss, but he didn't exactly give me a straight answer or anything." When talking about business I preferred to refer to my Dad as "Boss" just like every other Aqua grunt did.

"Why don't we put in a mission request and check it out? It could be an adventure! Anything to kill the boredom we've had the past couple weeks while stuck here." She suggested, a grin I knew all too well appearing on her face.

"There's no way the Boss would let us go. Especially if he believes we'll run into any members of Team Magma. Not to mention the fact that he wouldn't want to risk tensions getting worse between us and them so soon after running into them in Petalburg." I replied, determined not to let her talk me into anything stupid. A party was one thing, running headfirst into a confrontation with Team Magma was another.

"Well does the Boss know that you or I know that Team Magma might be in Slateport? What if you asked him to go because you had to run an errand? I have cousins in Slateport! You could say that you want to come with me to explore Slateport! You've never been there after all!" She replied enthusiastically.

"Forget it, I'm not asking the Boss. It's a terrible idea, running to Slateport and looking for trouble. There's _no way_ it's gonna happen." I replied firmly as I picked up my empty tray.

"Fine. Be that way and ruin my fun why don't you." Nola replied lightheartedly.

"Whatever, I'm going to go train Magikarp. See you later." I replied as I left for the exit with Mightyena following close behind.


	2. Bound For Trouble

Chapter 02: Bound For Trouble

It wasn't really much of a surprise when my father called me into his office the same afternoon that I had submitted my paperwork for permission to head to Lilycove. My paperwork always seemed to be processed quicker than others. Most days it was nice to not have to wait an eternity for a response, but there were also times that I could've lived with the waiting.

And so, I found myself stepping onto the teleport pad that would take me to his office. As always, his office looked well kept. His desk stood at the back wall, under a lovely portrait of a legendary pokemon in an underwater scene and surrounded my various other water-type pokemon. His book shelf occupied the left wall and a display case with a mini replica of a boat stood at the far corner on the right side of the room.

"Hello Kai, I've been expecting you." My father greeted, though not taking his eyes off his paperwork.

"Hi Dad." I replied as I walked over to stand in front of his desk. I stood at attention as he continued to mess with his paperwork. These days he seemed to be swimming in the stuff; several large stacks stood at the corners of his desk.

"So I heard you were planning on heading into Lilycove this Saturday. Want to tell me why?"

"I'm running low on supplies and figured that taking a trip to the mainland might be fun. It's been pretty quiet here lately, you know?" I replied, my voice masking the rising nerves in my stomach. '_Aw shit, he knows_,' I thought to myself.

"I see. And you're sure it has nothing to do with a party that some teens are having there? Yes, I know about it; considering that I've already gotten at least forty permission forms sent in for the exact same day and reason as yours. It's what every grunt under the age of nineteen is looking forward to and I'd have to be a complete idiot to not notice it. Would you like to explain why you, of all people, decided to resort to such trickery as well?" He replied, finally looking up from his paperwork.

If I could've sunk right into the floor and disappeared right there I would have done so. But knowing that hanging my head in shame wouldn't get me anywhere, I decided to straighten myself up and take a deep breath before continuing.

"To be honest I feel like you're still treating me like I'm ten. The last time there was a party and I asked you said absolutely not. And all the other grunts get assigned to missions all over Hoenn, but I'm constantly restricted to missions in Lilycove. How am I supposed to become a well-rounded trainer and be reasonably adapted at social settings if I'm constantly restricted to one town and its surrounding area and not allowed there unless you approve a mission?" I replied as calmly and maturely as I could.

I stood there making eye contact as he thought it over. His aqua eyes lost in thought as they peered into my lava ones. Eventually, Dad let out a long sigh before answering. "I see your point, and perhaps I have been treating you a little too juvenile. I'll let you go tonight, but I want you to act responsibly. Remember, one day you'll be the one sitting in this chair and giving orders, you need to understand that you have responsibilities to Team Aqua instead of just the usual responsibilities other teens your age have. Therefore I want you back here by ten thirty, _and_ I never want to receive something like _this_ again." He held up my form for emphasis.

"Understood! Thanks Dad!" I replied a little too quickly and a bit too excitedly. But he smiled and waved his hand at me in a dismissive fashion nonetheless.

I quickly turned from his desk and headed straight for the teleport pad. Except I soon found that my path was blocked by the glowing pad; signifying that someone else was currently using it. As I patiently waited a moment I found myself face to face with Jason, the youngest Administrator in Team Aqua.

"Administrator Jason reporting in," he said with a tone that spoke of the utmost respect towards my father. He walked past me and towards the front of my father's desk. As he walked past, I made brief eye contact with his gray-blue eyes. And though he went past me I continued to take in his features: short sandy blond hair that stuck out in the back where the bandana ended, he stood about a foot taller than myself, and his slight muscular built was visible under his black and white striped shirt.

'_Snap out of it! You have more important things to focus on,'_ I mentally scolded myself. Deciding that it was none of my business to remain here and listen in, I made to leave on the teleport pad.

"Wait a moment Kai; I want you to hear this." My father spoke up before I could leave.

"Yes sir," I replied as I turned to face them and made my way back to the front of his desk and stood at attention.

"Go on."

"Sir, we have gathered intelligence on Team Magma's objective. Our sources tell us that they were also after the Devon Goods back in Rostboro City where our members failed to obtain them. We also know that they too failed to obtain these goods and that the head of the company has sent these goods to Captain Stern in Slateport City with a private messenger. We believe that this is the reason for Team Magma's sudden interest in the city and that they are waiting for the delivery of these Goods."

When Jason had finished speaking, my father paused for a moment to think before giving his orders.

"Tomorrow morning I want several Grunts relocated to Slateport City. I want them to locate and follow Captain Stern's movements until the Goods are delivered. I also want them to have orders to clear the city of Team Magma's influence, but to do so without causing too much of a ruckus. I do not want the authorities to get involved, that could ruin our plans. Slateport is one of our cities and I will not tolerate them being there." My father ordered, his voice filled with authority.

"Yes sir."

"You are dismissed then. Kai, I'd like to speak with you for a moment longer."

"Yes sir." Jason replied before exiting the room. As he turned to leave though he made eye contact with me once more. I didn't allow myself to follow him with my eyes though as he walked past and out of the room.

"Now, I want to know how would _you_ go about handling this situation in Slateport?" My father asked. He was now leaning forward in his chair with his chin resting on his hands. I had his full attention now.

"I would start by placing groups just outside Slateport City. This leaves a line of defense against Team Magma without our people having to fight within the city, thus avoiding problems with the local authorities. I would then place smaller groups inside the city; fewer people means the chances of attracting unwanted attention are slimmer. I would then bring my attention to gaining the Devon Goods before they can be delivered to Captain Stern. It is easier to steal something on the road than it is to steal it from a guarded building after all." I replied. I can tell he's pleased with my response by the look in his eyes; there's a small speck of satisfaction and pride gleaming within them.

"Good. You wanted more responsibility and a chance to attend missions in other towns, so I'm giving you this mission. Tomorrow you'll be relocated to Slateport and I'm putting you a smaller group that will be in charge of retrieving the Devon Goods. Bring this to Administrator Shelly, she will be the head of tomorrows mission." He replied after scribbling something down on a sheet of paper and then handing it to me.

"Seriously?" I asked, feeling quite shocked. This was far more than I could've hoped for.

"Yes I'm serious. You were correct before about not getting out enough. I cannot expect you to grow as a trainer if you are constantly restricted to Lilycove City. And speaking of your strengths as a trainer, how is the newest member of your team doing?"

"Magikarp seems to be doing well. But he still lacks the skills and strength to battle." I replied. While I had been training him for hours on end each day, progress was as slow as molasses. I had underestimated the difficulty in evolving a Magikarp, but I was far too attached and stubborn to give up.

"I see. Well perhaps this will help you," Dad replied as he placed a pokeball on his desk. Upon closer inspection I could make out the undeniable silhouette of an Eevee inside the ball. I stared dumbstruck as I struggled to find appropriate words.

"You see, I was thinking he may suit you better than he does me. He's troublesome and as stubborn as they come, but I think he may prove to teach you a few life lessons that I can't." He explained.

"Really? Thank you!" I replied, picking up the pokeball and peering inside. The little guy was sound asleep.

"Now, bring that paper to Shelly, she'll need advanced notification to set the mission up."

I thanked my father once more before I walked onto the teleport pad and exited his office. As I ported out into the hallway, I was slightly surprised to see Jason leaning against the wall opposite me. Almost like he was waiting for me.

"Does the Boss tell you _everything_ that goes on in Team Aqua?" His voice sounded slightly agitated.

"No, not really," I replied, slightly puzzled by the sudden question.

"Administrator access to information and an Eevee to boot. They were right, you really are spoiled."

"Excuse me?" I exclaimed. I was beginning to feel some heat in my cheeks. My shock was quickly turning to escalating anger.

"You know, some of us actually have to work to get where we are. We aren't all just given special treatment like you. And none of us are nearly as sheltered as you are either." He continued, tuning from me and beginning to walk down the hall.

"Now wait just a minute! What gives you the right to say something like that? I barely know you!" I called after him.

"How about some advice then; stop being so childish. Words are only words. Be careful of the power you let other's words hold over you. I guarantee that you're always going to meet people who aren't going to bend over backwards just because you're the Boss's daughter." And with that, he stepped on a teleport pad and was gone.

xXxXx  
**Later That Night**  
xXxXx

"An Eevee? You serious?" Nola exclaimed at the news as we continued to surf our way to Lilycove. Her Dewgong was the only pokemon between us that could actually surf.

"I know! It was totally unexpected." I replied, hanging onto my hat. Instead of my usual Aqua uniform, I was dressed in baggy jeans, a simple black tank top, and a blue beanie replaced my Aqua bandana. Nola on the other hand was dressed up more for the occasion with her modified T-shirt that rested past her shoulders, exposing a lot of skin, and booty shorts.

"By the way, any idea if I'll be heading out to Slateport with you tomorrow?" Nola asked as we reached the shore. And now I felt like a terrible friend for not asking earlier. Nola had wanted the mission far more than I had after all.

"No idea, but if you are then you should get the paperwork by tomorrow morning." I replied. Team Aqua was full of paperwork. Forms and all sorts of applications needed to be filled out by grunts who wanted to partake in a mission, when an Administrator needed to recruit grunts for a mission, and when grunts and Administrators returned from missions they needed to fill out detailed reports. Paperwork even needed to be filled out when grunts and administrators wanted to leave the base; even on stupid occasions like tonight. It was very easy to see how my father ended up swimming in the stuff.

"Whatever, I'll focus on that later. Right now I just wanna have fun!" Nola replied as we both walked our bay through the sandy shore towards town. The location of the party wasn't too far from the shore so it was a relatively short walk.

Loud music blared as a multitude of rainbow lights scanned the dance floor. The place was packed. Trainers from all over had squeezed their way onto the dance floor. I recognized many as Team Aqua grunts, but tonight they had abandoned the uniform in favor of flashier clothing that suited the occasion.

"Oh yeah! They're playing my jam!" Nola shouted over the blaring music as she sauntered towards the dance floor.

At first I was a complete wall flower, preferring to just listen to the music that was currently pounding in my chest and watch others on the dance floor. But as the night progressed, Nola managed to drag me onto the dance floor.

As I became more comfortable, I found myself dancing the night away. Swaying to the music and letting the energy of the dance floor carry me away. I quickly abandoned my worries, putting them in the back of my mind as I focused on the pure bliss of partying. Song after song I remained on the dance floor as Nola went off periodically to grab another soda.

Eventually I began to wonder about the time, just then remembering that I had a curfew. I strained my voice so that I could tell Nola that I'd be back after checking the time.

"Whatever, just don't take too long!" I managed to hear her reply before the next song came blaring to life in the speakers. I didn't know if it was the surrounding noise, but her voice sounded off for a moment there.

I slipped my way through the dance floor, trying my best to avoid the surrounding dancers. Even so I found myself letting out a gasp of surprise as I felt something under my foot.

"Watch where you're-" the person whose foot I'd stepped on started before his voice was lost in the music. Rapidly turning around, I came face to face with the boy. The first thing I noticed was his eyes; deep ocean blue which seemed to glow in comparison to his tan complexion. Tall and leanly muscular with ink black hair, straight and short. He looked my age, maybe a year older.

"Sorry," I uttered after I realized I had taken a moment to stare at him. The boy eyed me for a moment before smiling slightly.

"Whatever," he replied just barely audible above the music.

I peeled my eyes away from him and continued on my way. When I finally found somebody with the time, I was shocked to learn that it was already 10:15. Depending on how quickly a pokemon could surf and depending on the height of the waves, it could take close to fifteen minutes to reach the base. I needed to find Nola and leave now, or face breaking the curfew my father had set. The last thing I wanted to do was brake his trust.

I quickly wormed my way back onto the dance floor, my eyes scanning for Nola. She wasn't too hard to find, since she had stayed in the general area of where we last were.

"Nola! We need to go!" I shouted over the music, which had just kicked back up with the next song.

"Why? We're having so much fun!" She replied, barely audible. But her speech seemed off, just ever-so-slightly slurred. And I suddenly realized that all her drinks weren't _just_ soda. Now I was in trouble, I needed her and her Dewgong to get back to the base. And as friendly as her Dewgong was, I knew it wouldn't obey me. How many so called 'sodas' had she had? Four? Five? While I could clearly see that she wasn't entirely drunk, I had never known her to ever drink and I wondered how it would affect her.

"Nola I can't break curfew! Come on, let's get some air." I replied as I took her by the wrist and dragged her off the dance floor and outside. The cooling night air had felt wonderful compared the heated party room.

"Where are we going?" Nola asked now that I was leading her towards the shore.

"We need to go back! It's getting late!" I replied as I continued to drag her along.

"I don't want to though!" She complained, attempting to drag her heels in the sand.

"Well we need to. Don't you want to see if you're going on that mission tomorrow? How do you plan on going if you can't get up in the morning!" I replied, trying to coax her into cooperating with me.

"Fine," She mumbled in response. Taking her free hand, she pulled out the Pokeball that held her Dewgong. "Let's surf," she instructed.

Hopping on with Nola, we surfed off into the night towards the base. I was thankful for the low waves tonight as well. We didn't have to fight against them to get to the base and it made the ride quick and smooth.

By the time we reached the base it was 10:45, fifteen minutes past my curfew. I slipped inside, filled out the return form with rapid speed and terrible handwriting, and then went back to my room with Nola. I just really hoped that I hadn't disappointed my father with those fifteen minutes.


	3. A Separated Team

Chapter 03: A Separated Team

The following morning things appeared to be rather normal. The mood of the base was much lighter after the previous night's party. It seemed as though the live-in grunts had cured their cabin fever and the meal hall buzzed with chatter of the party's events at breakfast this morning.

Though I had confronted Nola earlier this morning about her drinking, she had insisted that she was perfectly fine except for a minor headache. I questioned her about the alcohol, but she blew me off with saying that she really hadn't had much and that she was only experimenting as every other healthy teenager did. That last statement in particular had me peeved. If that was her idea of being a 'healthy teenager' then we had polar opinions on the matter. For I had no desire what-so-ever to experiment with the stuff.

Also, as it turned out, Nola had been pulled for the mission but would not be accompanying me. Instead she would be on the outer edge of the city fighting against Team Magma. And since we had a few hours before we would be called to leave with our designated groups for Slateport, we sat outside on some of the larger rocks surrounding the base. These rocks were our hangout; a place where we were free to talk our minds and train our pokemon.

I sat up on the rocks and allowed the crashing waves to lick my bare feet. My sneakers and socks were out of reach in my hands. I had also rolled up my pants to my knees, preventing them from getting wet as well. Nola sat to my right, her sneakers in her lap and her pants rolled up as well. We both sat with our backs to the sun as we watched our water-type pokemon enjoy a nice swim. Her Dewgong was watching after both her Surskit and my Magikarp; making sure they didn't stray too far away.

"You nervous about the mission?" I asked, sensing that something was on her mind.

"To be honest, no I'm not. I wanted to fight after all." She replied, still not looking at me. "What about you?"

"I'm fine. Though I did want to fight too, but it's no surprise that the Boss wouldn't assign it to me. Especially not on my first _real_ mission anyways. But I'll get my chance eventually. He can't shelter me forever." I answered as I watched Magikarp splash at Surskit.

"You've got that right," She agreed. And then we sat there in silence once more, watching as our pokemon had their fun.

"Huh? Is that a …Taillow? I thought they didn't live in this area though." I inquired, suddenly seeing the blue and red bird-type come flying overhead.

"Oh no," Nola moaned, looking up at the bird. She didn't seem surprised by its sudden appearance, almost like she was expecting it to show up at some point. Suddenly, it swooped down and began to circle us, chirping with glee. "Stupid Taillow always finds me. He's my parent's and they use him to send me letters and junk on holidays." Nola replied, giving the Taillow a look of pure loathing as she took the box he was holding in his talons.

"Oh," I replied. It was no secret that Nola had a rocky relationship with her parents, since whenever I brought the subject up she dogged my questions and changed the topic as quickly as possible. So I usually just left the subject alone.

"But wait, it isn't a holiday," I added, taking a moment to think about today and confirm that the nearest holiday was three weeks away.

"It's my Birthday present."

"Birthday?! Since when is it your Birthday?!" I asked. Now that I thought about it, I've known Nola for about a year now and still didn't know when her Birthday was. I really am a terrible friend.

"It already passed last week."

"Why didn't you tell me?!"

"Because it isn't important. 'Oh goodie, I'm 17 years-old now', like seriously? It's just like any other day of the year. I wonder what crap my parents sent me this year. Maybe it's _more_ ugly ass socks. And I can guarantee that card is filled with my mother's bitching; '_why don't you come home to visit more often? We miss you, Nola pumpkin'_." Nola replied with bitter sarcasm. But she soon fell quiet as she opened the box.

"Well? What is it?" I asked after a short moment of her staring into the box with her jaw dropped.

"It's an egg," She gasped, shocked.

I scooted closer and peered into the box. Sure enough, inside and wrapped safely in bubble wrap was an egg; white with several green spots. Nestled within the corner of the box was a luxury ball and a card. It was obvious that her parents had put a considerable amount of effort into this year's gift; far better than the socks they had sent in previous years.

"Wow." Nola whispered with amazement.

"Read the card," I urged.

"You read it," she replied. With gentle fingers, I slipped the envelope out of the box and pulled out the card.

"Dear Nola," I began. "I understand that you are uncomfortable visiting us on holidays and other such occasions, so it comes as no surprise that once again you choose not to visit us on your Birthday. This year we decided to purchase you an egg. Similar to your 10th Birthday, we filled out a request for a water-type since they seem to be your favorite. And though I do not know what will hatch from it, I'm positive it will become as valuable as your beloved Seel. Though by this point I'm sure you've managed to evolve him into a Dewgong. I have no doubt in your skills as a trainer. Keep chasing your dreams, we're cheering for you. Love, Papa. P.S. Your Mother means well and she does miss you. It also wouldn't kill you to write to us every once in a while."

"Leave it to my father to give the better present," Nola replied once I finished reading. "If it were up to my Mother I probably would've received another pair of socks or something just as useless." But her voice lacked the bitterness from moments ago.

"You don't get along well with her?" I pressed. I had never known my Mother and though I loved my Father greatly he wasn't the best parent in the universe. His entire parenting goal was to train me to be a good future leader of Team Aqua after all. So I wasn't overly accustomed to how normal families worked. Plus I could sense that Nola needed to get something off her chest.

"Yeah, the old hag wanted me to be a housewife when I grew up. But I never wanted that and she knew it. She tried to prevent me from leaving the house after I turned ten and she's tried to do so every single time I've ever returned home to visit. My old man always understood though. He had his own adventures when he was younger and he was pretty cool about me wanting to do the same. My parents fought about the topic all the time before I turned ten and left them behind." She explained. I could tell that she had been holding these emotions in for too long, since one she started speaking she didn't stop.

"I'm sorry to hear that." I replied, unsure of what else to really say.

"Don't worry about it, nothing you can do about it anyways. I haven't thought about that crap in a long time. Either way, it's getting close to leaving time. You ready to go?" She replied, obviously trying to put the topic behind her now that she had said what she needed.

"Yeah, but what about the Taillow?" I asked, once again aware of the bird-type that was perched in the spot next to Nola.

"Don't worry about him. He knows his way home." She replied as she gave the bird-type a shooing wave of her hand. After he had flown off, she stood up and put her shoes back on before calling for her pokemon. I did the same before calling my Magikarp back.

Once back inside the base, Nola and I said our good-byes before splitting off into our designated groups. To prevent causing too much attention on the main land in in the towns we passed, we would be leaving in our smaller groups a half an hour apart from each other. Nola, being a part of a combat group, would be leaving a few hours before I would.

"Be careful and take extra care of that egg." I said before she left.

"Hey, I can take care of myself. But good luck in finding Captain Stern or whatever it is they'll have you do. I know you'll do great and maybe next time we'll fight those Magma bastards together." She replied with a smile.

Then she was off and I was alone with a few hours to kill. Instead of meeting up with my group, I slipped away from the main room of the base. I felt like this was a good opportunity to properly introduce Eevee to my team. I went off to the training room to set up for this meeting, since I didn't feel like my room was an appropriate place.

After arriving in the training room, I locked the door behind me and then let Mightyena out and then released Magikarp in the large water tank we kept in the training room.

"Alright gang, lets welcome our new teammate." I told my assembled team as I held Eevee's pokeball in my hand. "Common out, Eevee!" I said as I released him. He was a small ball of brown and tan fluff with charcoal orbs for eyes. He was adorable!

Mightyena approached and sniffed the top of his head. It was going well until the back of his fur stood up, he swiped his claws at her snout, and then let out a loud hiss with his sharp teeth bared. She quickly retaliated with a Roar, causing him to tumble backwards a few feet.

"Whoa!" I shouted as held Mightyena back from attacking again. Eevee had gotten to his feet and was crouched low as he continued to hiss at us. And Magikarp splashed angrily in his tank, clearly upset that Eevee had attacked. I had heard about introductions going poorly, but this was ridiculous.

And then I realized what the problem might be. I had received this Eevee as an unofficial trade. My father had just handed him over to me and he wasn't acknowledging me as his trainer. Maybe I need to capture him myself? The training room was locked, there was nowhere for him to run, so I decided to run with my crazy idea.

"Okay, I see how it is," I said aloud as I took Eevee's empty pokeball in my hand. I placed it under my foot and put all of my weight on top of it. With a little effort I managed to crack the ball, rendering it useless. "And now that you're free, I have an opportunity to catch you myself." Mightyena let out a bark of approval at this.

Eevee hissed in response while Mightyena readied herself to attack at my command.

"Bite!" I ordered. Both pokemon raced towards eachother, but Eevee attacked first with a rapid Quick Attack. Mightyena's fangs came down on Eevee's back and caused the pokemon to let out a cry of pain. But he quickly retaliated with a good aimed tackle.

I kept instructing Mightyena to use Bite. It not only allowed Eevee to put up a fair fight but it wasn't too abusive either. Eventually we got to the point where his energy was low. Though he was still standing, he was shaking from the effort and strain. The look in his eyes showed that he was determined to fight on though.

Knowing that now was as good a time as any, I took an empty ball off my belt and clicked the center button. I then threw it with better aim than I had hoped and watched as it absorbed the trembling pokemon in a flash of white. The second it hit the floor the ball began to shake violently. The seconds passed as I held my breath. Finally it stopped shaking and a small click rang out in the room. I had captured the Eevee.

After picking up the ball that contained the tired and defeated pokemon, I walked over to the healing machine in the far corner of the room. I also took a moment to recall Mightyena into her pokeball and then placed both of them in the machine. I waited a couple of minutes for the machine to let out a loud ding, signaling that it was done healing my pokemon.

"Alright, let's try this again." I stated as I took the two from the machine and released them into the open room. As the white glow faded from their fur, Mightyena sat protectively next to me as Eevee stood several feet from me.

"Why don't we try this again? Hi Eevee, I'm Kai." I said softly as I slowly inched my hand closer to him. I didn't want to startle him and I also wanted to leave enough time and space between my hand and him that he could decide to accept me or not. He sniffed my outstretched hand and allowed me to tickle behind his ears.

"See? I'm not so bad." Though I continued to pet him, he never took his eyes off of me or let his guard down. I took a look at Mightyena and she too began to creep closer to Eevee. Eevee growled slightly at her and I took my hand away; fearful that he might bite or scratch at me. But Mightyena inched ever closer; she was eager to make a new friend who didn't have to be kept in the water tank when not in their pokeball.

But Eevee quickly whipped his fluffy tail in her face and turned his back on her, his nose pointed towards the ceiling in a snobbish expression of dislike. He clearly wasn't over their fight and wasn't too keen to get along at the moment. Mightyena looked at Eevee, then at me, and then back at Eevee. She was clearly confused as to why he didn't like her.

"It's okay girl," I said as I patted Mightyena's head. I knew Eevee would come around sooner or later.

"That's enough for today guys. We need to go meet up with our group soon." I said as I began calling my pokemon back into their pokeballs. Magikarp was the last to be recalled. And as I secured them to my belt, I left the training room and went off to meet up with my assigned group for the mission.

Back in the main area of the base, hundreds of grunts were running this way and that. Everyone was making their final preparations for the mission. I worked my way over to the middle of the room where the rest of my group was assembled.

My group was composed of six members including myself. Administrator Shelly, a punkish grunt named Kath, and I were the only girls in our group. The other guys were Lewis, Theo, and Scott. I made a conscious effort not to stare at Theo's visible scar. They were a nice enough bunch, but Kath and Theo weren't overly thrilled to be working with our group. Kath kept mumbling that she preferred to work alone and Theo made it clear that he would've rather been fighting. Both complained only when Shelly was out of earshot.

Before long we were on our way and surfing on Scott's Wailord. It had been decided that taking a sea route would be the quickest way to Slateport; passing Mosdeep City, Sootpolis City, and going through Pacifidlog Town.

For the most part we were quiet during our travels, for Shelly kept barking orders into a wireless headset. She was on top of everything, constantly telling people where to be and what to do, through that headset. Just seeing the dynamics between my group, I wondered about Nola and if she had better luck in teammates than I had.

It would be a few hours before we arrived in Slateport.


End file.
